Trump: I am canceling Raises for Federal Workers because of the deficit

In a surprise move, President Trump told Congressional leaders on Thursday that the pay rise for federal civil servants would be cut by 2.1 percent in 2019 due to a rising deficit.

Trump wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan He said "In light of the current financial situation of the nation, the remuneration of employees must be performance-based and strategically aligned with the recruitment, retention and remuneration of high-performing staff with critical skills"

The move comes at a time when the federal government has suffered a major deficit since President Trump took office.

The proposal will affect more than 2.1 million employees across the United States, about 1.7 million of whom live outside of Washington, DC area, The Hill reported.

the budget deficit in July hit $ 77 billion, up 79 percent in the same month in 2017, and is expected to reach 2.1 percent in January, MarketWatch reported